Category: 2016

Fueled by the use of hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling to extract oil and gas, the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas in recent years became one of the most prolific oil and gas plays in the country. As more and more wells were drilled, however, concerns grew that freshwater use for hydraulic fracturing…

A technology that uses electrons moving at almost the speed of light may soon be used to turn wastewater into drinking water. In a joint research project, scientists from The Texas A&M University System successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using electron beam, or eBeam, technology to treat wastewater for direct potable reuse. Dr. Suresh Pillai,…

By Eva Vigh All over Texas, homeowners are unknowingly drenching their yards — thanks to inefficient practices or leaky irrigation systems. Often more than 50 percent of landscape water is wasted due to overwatering, according to Texas A&M University experts. Encouraging residents to use science-based ways to water their lawns could help alleviate this problem,…

In one of the most water-stressed regions in the United States, irrigation professionals and software developers are joining forces to develop a web-based technology that will help Texas High Plains farmers evaluate how much and when to irrigate their crops. Still in development, the Dashboard for Irrigation Efficiency Management, or DIEM, is a product of Texas…

By Leslie Lee “What’s so wrong with runoff?” Dr. Benjamin Wherley presented this question to a room full of water experts at Texas A&M University in February, most of them familiar with the details of why urban landscape irrigation runoff is a big problem. In addition to being a total waste of potable water, runoff…

By Danielle Kalisek Urban water conservation is high on the list of managing Texas’ future water supplies. The approaches used in current urban water conservation programs span everything from rebates, education and landscape watering restrictions. A team of researchers and specialists of The Texas A&M University System recently focused on a different aspect of urban…

By Leslie Lee In December 2015, Dr. John C. Tracy was officially named director of the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). Tracy had served as director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute at the University of Idaho for the last 11 years, also serving as the associate vice president for research and previously as interim vice…